Coronavirus originated in China but spread around the world. It has affected the entertainment industry, especially the world of Movies. Producers invest millions over a period of time to come up with a movie that will help recover the investment. They plan for its release and select most appropriate slots that would pay rich dividends. However, coronavirus has upset all calculations. It is a contiguous disease and usually spreads through human contact, so the advice is to avoid such contact. This, in turn, has led to social distancing and has laid emphasis on the work-from-home culture. There is a ban on gatherings with emptiness all around from roads, stadiums, cinema halls, parks, and airports.

The disease has virtually stopped the world and appears to resemble scenes from some sci-fi movie where unknown forces are at work to make life miserable.

Sky News says Sony has shifted release dates of a few of its major films to 2021 in view of the threats of coronavirus that have devastated the entertainment industry. So far, they have made mention of films like Spider-Man spin-off "Morbius," "Ghostbusters: Afterlife," and "Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway." The revised dates for release in the US would be next year rather than in the summer.

There is already a delay in the James Bond movie "No Time to Die." Its date was in the current week in the UK. For the movie industry to survive the crisis, they could try out options other than movie halls for releasing their films.

The movie world struggles with coronavirus

There are two aspects of the coronavirus and its effect on the industry.

The first is the fate of movies that are ready to hit the screens. These include Disney blockbusters like "Mulan" and "Black Widow." Sky News goes on to add Sony confirmed postponement of seven of its films in the US. Its new date for the release of "Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway" will be 15 January 2021.

Then will come "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" on 5 March 2021. "Morbius" has moved from July to March 19 next year. The release of another of its films, "Greyhound" will shift from June to an unspecified date. This is a World War II film starring Tom Hanks. However, Sony did not elaborate on fresh launch dates for the UK or other countries.

Sony also is pushing back the start date for 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' and 'Peter Rabbit 2.' https://t.co/IqDjU9XL8K

Incidentally, coronavirus will have an adverse effect on the future of movies that are in the pipeline. The studios are empty, many celebrities are in the grip of the virus and work can resume only when normalcy returns.

As Sky News says, the global pandemic devastated Hollywood. In the opinion of some experts, the final cost to the industry could reach tens of billions of dollars.

Coronavirus has wreaked havoc on the film industry

According to The Verge, the coronavirus has compelled movie houses to shift release dates of movies that are ready for launch. Sony announced the rescheduling of "Uncharted", "Ghostbusters: Afterlife," and "Peter Rabbit 2." Observers feel the drastic schedule changes suggested by Sony indicates an apprehension that movie theaters would remain shut for a long time. Other studios have also made adjustments. Warner Bros moved "Wonder Woman 1984" from June 5 to August 14. The new date for the James Bond thriller. "No Time to Die" delayed by coronavirus is November while Disney’s "Mulan" is delayed indefinitely.

Hard times ahead for the movie world due to coronavirus

COVID-19 or coronavirus has disturbed the money earning industries like Travel, tourism, and entertainment to name a few. The need of the hour is to maintain social distancing and avoid direct contact with others. People are helpless and have to wait for the situation to improve. The creative teams will probably keep themselves engaged. They could work on future movie plots, keep in touch with others of their fraternity via video conferencing and hope to take off from where the chain broke once the cloud blows over.

I am a retired engineer from India and have served as Senior Manager in an aircraft manufacturing company.
I have also been blogging since 2004.
My blogs cover a wide variety of subjects and, at present, I have four of them running as on 9/7/2018 –
(i) Citizen Journalist: covering travel, tourism, foods, environment and strange news (3099 posts)
(ii) Violence and Atrocities (819 posts)
(iii) Entertainment (388 posts) and
(iv) Ramblings - satire (513 posts)
Cumulative view of these four blogs as on date (9/7/2018) is 510168.

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